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The Power of Preferences: STV in Scottish Local Elections

Much talk of the need for electoral reform focuses on Westminster and the goal of a proportionally elected House of Commons. But while the UK Parliament, and almost all of England’s elections, are still held...

Posted 26 Apr 2022

The Power of Preferences_STV in Scottish Local Elections preview

How do elections work in Slovenia?

The process of democratisation since the collapse of communism has not been uniform across eastern Europe, but some countries, such as the Baltic states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, are now drawing level with established...

Posted 21 Apr 2022

Slovenia uses an interesting and unusual system of proportional representation

Why England needs the Single Transferable Vote

In May 2022, local elections will take place throughout Scotland and Wales, as well as in many parts of England, including the election of all local councillors in Greater London. In Scotland, these will be...

Posted 07 Apr 2022

For too long England has lagged behind on progress towards fairer votes

How do elections work in Hungary?

Hungarian voters are just days away from electing a new parliament. The country has, of course, become known for its democratic backsliding under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán – being the only EU member state not...

Posted 01 Apr 2022

Due to the First Past the Post element, the proportionality of the system is fairly limited

How are English local councils funded?

While you might think that local councils are wholly funded by council tax, in fact, local government in England is funded by a combination of central government grants and local taxes. What are the problems...

Posted 30 Mar 2022

The UK has one of the most centralised local government funding systems

ERS Live: Where next for English local governance?

Following the publication of our latest research report Democracy Made in England, last week we hosted our latest #ERSLive event, in which an expert panel discussed the question, ‘where next for English local government?’ for...

Posted 29 Mar 2022

ERS Live webinar local government